Monday, September 3, 2012

Newsstand

Former Padres exec Andy Strasberg has released a nostalgic book, Baseball Fantography, A Celebration in Snapshots and Stories from the Fans. "Sometimes," writes Bob Costas in the foreword, "it is the personal snapshot a fan takes that best demonstrates what the game can mean to those who care about it." The Padres are well-represented, whether it's the San Diego Chicken attempting to distract Don Sutton, snapshots of players being photographed for their baseball cards, including Tito Fuentes, Bobby Tolan and Dave Freisleben, or Tony Gwynn swinging for a video shot at UC Riverside (with a no pepper sign in the background.) The hope is that fans will share other snapshots with Strasberg...Over at ESPN.com, I preview college football's title race, writing a West Coast Bias perspective on the SEC's dominance and USC's chances of unseating the next SEC champ...Bravo to the Padres for honoring Jerry Coleman, statue of whom will be unveiled on Sept. 15. Last year I stumped on the Colonel's behalf.